Does anyone have any personal experience with a child exposed to meth in utero? With only days away from our baby girl being born we got some bad news and now I am nervous. We found out that the expectant mom tested positive for meth and pot. Pot I can deal with, meth freaks me out! I'm so worried about the long term effects of this.

I would never tell anyone in my real life about this because I don't want it to be used against my daughter. So feel free to pm me if you don't want to openly share.

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Wife to my best friend and Mama to S 07/05/09 and S 08/16/12

We don't know all the things my son was exposed to. We know for sure heroin and alcohol because they were in her system in labor, but she did a little of everything.

Biggest advice...call Early Intervention and have an eval done as soon as you see anything even the slightest bit abnormal. I waited til DS (DFS at the time) was 3 months old to call, and should have called sooner. The physical therapists and speech therapists were awesome. DS had trouble latching on his bottle, and they worked hard with him.

And, no matter what, never stop researching and accept the predictions that "they" have. I was told at 4 months that DFS would never walk. At 18 months, they told me to start learning sign language because he would never talk. At almost 3.5, he is running everywhere and riding his bike, talking at/above age level, and doing well in every aspect except eating, which he has made major strides in the last year. We all firmly believe that his tube will be gone by kindy.

So my "never gonna" child is my "TOLD YOU SO" child!

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Kristen
Middle school teacher by day, super mom by night
Mommy to The Boss~2007, The Energizer Bunny~2009, and The Princess~2011
My kids are no longer in diapers, but somehow, my computer keeps finding its way back here...

Meth is more of a west coast drug but its all over. Its one of the more serious drugs and I would be concerned but it just depends on how comfortable with it you are. Baby may have serious withdrawals and long term issues, like using any other drug. I second getting EI in pretty quickly and careful monitoring and stay on top of any special needs. It sucks but a child without drugs in utero can also have serious issues just by genetics so its a toss up of what you are ok with. I would be careful with an open adoption with a very active user.

__________________Mom to my wonderfully sweet toddler who is the joy of our lives. :

I have taken several drug exposed babies (7) and one who actually had the highest tested level of meth at birth that CPA ever removed.

There are some basics that you do with all exposure babies. Feel free to pm with questions. I posted something not to long ago for another mom.

As for the long term, I am waiting in the same boat you are to see what happens. My Hope was cocaine, opiate and marijuauna possitive at birth. She is only 4 mthd and we have 8 EI therapies a month. She has latching issues and sensory issues. But is doing pretty well all things considered.

__________________Christian Wife to DH married 16 years. Forever mommy to my adopted son #9 C (3 yrs) Currently fostering #20 A our bonus buddy full sibling to my adopted son (16 mths). We have fostered 20 children so far, some with medical special needs. Still hoping for a forever girl.

Thank you all for posting. I felt bad for having to ask for help when I've been away so long. I am not working now and so I don't sit next to a computer all day anymore.

I called OTIS they specialize in this. The genetics specialist I talked to said this is her most common call. She made me feel so much better. She said that at moderate use there is a 10% chance that our daughter will have learning or behavioral issues (most likely speech or ADHD). But that it will not affect intelligence or her ability to learn.

I couldn't answer how much exposure there has been because our birthmom would have to tell us that. I don't want to ask and I doubt she would give the whole truth.

Thanks again so much! She will be here soon!

__________________
Wife to my best friend and Mama to S 07/05/09 and S 08/16/12

Thank you all for posting. I felt bad for having to ask for help when I've been away so long. I am not working now and so I don't sit next to a computer all day anymore.

I called OTIS they specialize in this. The genetics specialist I talked to said this is her most common call. She made me feel so much better. She said that at moderate use there is a 10% chance that our daughter will have learning or behavioral issues (most likely speech or ADHD). But that it will not affect intelligence or her ability to learn.

I couldn't answer how much exposure there has been because our birthmom would have to tell us that. I don't want to ask and I doubt she would give the whole truth.

Thanks again so much! She will be here soon!

I'm glad you called OTIS! I was just popping in to say that you should call them.

I wonder what the chances for learning/behavorial issues are with average pregnancies, healthy moms, good nutrition, etc.